Author: Sharmistha Gooptu

When Manu Bhaker attened the Tata Steel Trailblazers conclave back in 2023, she was one of many Olympic hopefuls, hoping to bounce back from the crushing disappointment of Tokyo. Since then, she has gone on to win two Olympic medals in Paris, in the women’s 10m Air Pistol and the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event. On the sidelines of the Trailblazers Conclave 3.0 held in Kolkata in March, she spoke to Sharmistha Gooptu, Co-founder and COO of RevSportz, about her vision of women’s empowerment, her mother’s support and chasing the Olympic dream. Sharmistha Gooptu: You were here at the…

World Health Day is an important day in the RevSportz calendar. Each year we seize the day as an opportunity to record and convey messages of health awareness from icons in the sporting world. Messages which can inspire many who are possibly dealing with issues of health or lack of health awareness, and whether it be women’s or mental health, we have covered a wide spectrum. This year at the Trailblazers Conclave, our flagship event, I had the occasion to speak with two of our leading women athletes, both Olympic medallists – Paris double medallist Manu Bhaker and Tokyo Olympics…

When the Empowerment Walk, which is now a signature event of the Trailblazers Conclave, was first thought through, it was agreed that this would be no regular fashion show. It would be a dramatic finale to the proceedings of the country’s biggest sports conclave, which brings together stakeholders from across the sports ecosystem. In this walk for the cause of inclusivity in sport, a rich visual rendition becomes a visceral mode of imbibing lessons and takeaways, and the Empowerment Walk curated by the House of Pataudi was conceived precisely for the same purpose. The size or shape of the participants…

The Trailblazers Conclave in its first edition in 2023 had the tagline ‘Nayi Narika Naya Nara’, clearly setting up the congregation as a forum for empowerment. In the third edition of this mega event in 2025, the Tata Steel Trailblazers Conclave carries forward the same commitment, but with a much broader focus, as RevSportz commits to bring to this platform an equal number of able-bodied and para athletes. In its first edition, the Trailblazers Conclave had given a voice to Manu Bhaker when she was yet to become the star that she is now, post Paris 2024. Manu was passing…

We had it all. The teams and their raw energy, the paara or neighbourhood, the carnival spirit and then some intensely touching moments. I was back in Siliguri yesterday to oversee the men’s and women’s finals of the RevSportz Football Carnival which kick-started last month with the inaugural press conference and the first women’s games. Sixteen men’s and sixteen women’s teams played in this just concluded edition of the tournament. Heart-warming stories greeted me as I entered the ground a little after half-noon. One of our team members recounted the ladies semi final. The girls team from Haldibari, an area…

The headmaster of a local school, the local media, and more than half of the teams in the tournament this time are from North Bengal – that’s the spirit of this year’s RevSportz Football Carnival. This year the Football Carnival debuts in another heartland of the game, Siliguri, in keeping with the community spirit/philosophy of the original tournament. The football tournament kicks off today and playing host to the girls teams that are coming in from different parts is Sailen Sir, headmaster of the local Bagha Jatin School, who has not only opened up the school grounds for the girls’…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris Yesterday was the day of the closing of the Paralympics and the Paris Games as a whole. The city of Paris had been on its toes and especially the police, who manned the streets and venues tirelessly, and deserved a thumbs up. Our hotel in Bercy has also housed police contingents through the duration of the Paralympic Games, because the Bercy Arena is next door and it’s heavy security. The policemen and women are looking forward to going home and taking a break I’m sure, just as we are looking forward to returning. Today was our…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris Before the start of the Olympics, there were reports of having a restaurant in the Games Village that would serve Indian food every day. The idea was for athletes to have the kind of food that they are used to eating and which works best for them as far as familiarity and mental wellness before competitions is concerned. During the Olympics, however, we heard murmurs of there being issues with long lines at food counters and Indian athletes having to order food from outside. When I met Palak Kolhi during the Paralympics, I asked her about…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris The times that I had previously visited the Paralympic Games Village in Paris, I had done my stories from outside, taking in what was visible from the boundary and from right outside the entrance. The different residence blocks of Italy, Nigeria or China were visible from the road there. On Friday, the entire RevSportz team in Paris and I finally had a chance to view the Indian residence building inside the Athletes’ Village, as we undertook a tour as guests of the Indian Paralympic Committee (IPC). The Athletes’ Village is not only high security, it’s a…

Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris September 4 was an exalted day for India in the Paris Paralympics. First, Harvinder Singh bagged a gold medal in archery and shortly thereafter both gold and silver went to India in men’s F51 Club Throw. Dharambir won the gold and Pranav Soorma took the silver. Next morning, I was having a chat with Satyanarayan ji, the head coach of the Indian para-athletics contingent, and I happened to say that the medal count predicted was certainly well on track, and that we had crossed the Tokyo medal tally. He corrected me. It is not so easy…